ASIA — Ty drunkenly stumbled into the apartment and collapsed into a chair across from his wife, Mae. From his soiled clothes and putrid smell, Mae knew he had thrown up in the street before entering their home.

It was the fifth time that week he had come home drunk. But instead of complaining, Mae began her nightly ritual without a word. She walked to Ty, knelt in front of him, untied his shoelaces and removed his shoes. She wiped his face with a washcloth and brought him a fresh change of clothes.

“I’ve seen a change in you,” Ty mumbled as she helped him into a clean shirt.

Mae knew it was true; she had changed. Only months before she would have been angry with Ty, criticizing him for his drunkenness. Now she served him. What caused this turnaround in her life?

Five years ago, Mae had become friends with a Crossworld worker, eating meals with her, shopping and going on trips together. For the first few years of their friendship, Mae had resisted talking about the Bible whenever her friend brought it up. Over time her friend became more and more vulnerable about the difficulties of life — and how God was seeing her through them. As the friendship deepened, Mae’s heart softened until years later she trusted Jesus.

As a new believer, Mae longs to tell her husband that the change he sees in her is from Jesus, but she fears Ty’s response.

She once tried to bring up the subject by placing a Bible on their bookshelf and hoping that he would ask her about it. But he only reacted in anger.

“Get that book down from there!” he commanded as soon as he saw it. “It influences me.”

Whenever Ty suspects Mae is studying the Bible, he tightens his control on her by taking away her car and telephoning throughout the day to check her location.

Mae wants to tell everyone she knows about Jesus, but she must first tell her husband, and doing so could cost her life. Please pray that God will protect her and give her courage to talk to her husband. Pray also that God will prepare Ty to listen and to accept Jesus.

Italicized names were changed to protect identities.